Everything I Ate at MICHELIN-Starred Restaurant, Rocca, in Tampa, FL

I spent my birthday this year at Rocca, an approachable Michelin-starred restaurant in Tampa, FL (1-star ⭐️).

For a Michelin-starred restaurant, it has a very approachable ambiance compared to most. Guests wear a range of attire, from ballcaps, T-shirts and jeans, to upscale attire like cocktail dresses and suits. While the restaurant offers three large-format protein selections, their pasta entrees are the majority of the menu and are served at a fair price point (ranging from $20 to a high of $69 for the truffle pasta when I visited in June 2025).

I would highly recommend the spaghetti al limone for the seafood lovers and the agnolotti filled with salame cabrese ricotta for the meat lovers. As for starters, I would definitely skip the bread and go straight for the tableside mozzarella cart. I have yet to try it so I cannot yet speak to its quality, but I have seen them making it and I believe it would be incredible — served with kumato tomatoes, fresh basil and a 10-year aged balsamic.

Next time I return, I hope to bring a larger party so I can finally indulge in the mozzarella cart and one of their three shareable proteins (duck, steak or whole fish).

GARDEN GROVE COCKTAIL

A delightful mezcal-based cocktail topped with egg white foam.

HOUSEMADE BREAD

Served with lemon butter and sea salt, this bread plate offers up two pieces each of Rocca’s house-made focaccia and sourdough. I can only assume they did not intend for the sourdough to be so toasty, but I thought maybe there was something I was missing… so we tried it anyway. The inside was soft and supple but it ultimately did not make up for the char. The focaccia was tasty but nothing remarkable. Overall, I would skip this next time, especially at the $8 price point.

COMPLIMENTARY GRANA PADANO CHEESE

The only thing I like more than cheese is FREE cheese. It was Grana Padano (similar to Parmesan). They have done this both times I have dined here so I am assuming it is standard, not a surprise perk.

AGNOLOTTI

Filled with a soft salame cabrese ricotta and topped with cherry tomatoes and garlic breadcrumbs, this is one of the top dishes I have enjoyed here. Initially, I was unsure what to expect from the salame cabrese filling but the flavors both inside and outside the agnolotti all melded together incredibly.

SPAGHETTI AL LIMONE

The #1 dish I have enjoyed here! Ribboned with spiralized zucchini and chock full of fresh blue crab, the bright lemon flavor really shone through this dish and the spaghetti had a wonderful bite. I would truly order this ten times over.

BIRTHDAY GELATO

Another fun on-the-house surprise from Rocca! Since I was celebrating my birthday, they brought out this delightful not-too-sweet scoop of gelato with the perfect texture, crumbly topping and birthday candle accompaniment.

And I’ll just say it — as much as I appreciate a hand-signed card, restaurants that do dessert for birthdays will always be higher on my list!